Petersen drew inspiration from the protest movements of the 1960s,[1] "the idea that rebellion in music didn't originate in punk rock" (Profane Existence No.
[5] When playing live, they performed with four to five people, incorporating such instruments as junk/found percussion, trumpet, accordion, violin, mandolin, and vibraphone into their set.
At first, Mischief Brew consisted of only Petersen on an acoustic guitar or mandolin, playing songs off of the Mirth demo.
After extensive acoustic touring in support of the first two releases, Petersen assembled the first full-band incarnation of Mischief Brew, featuring Chris "Doc" Kulp (of Red Devil) on drums and Sean "Shantz" Yantz (of Evil Robot Us' and Abusing the Word) on bass.
In 2005, Petersen released his first full-length, Smash The Windows, featuring guest spots by artists from Leftöver Crack, World/Inferno Friendship Society, and Guignol.
Yantz left the band shortly after Songs from Under the Sink was released, and was replaced for a few shows by Kevin Holland and later by Shawn St. Clair (of Endless Nightmare, Lost Cause, Stations, the Bad Dudes and Wrought With Sickness), who played bass.
Mischief Brew have played shows in support of Food Not Bombs, Iraq Veterans Against the War, and ABC No Rio.
[16] Original bassist Sean Yantz was briefly replaced by Kevin Holland (for a few shows) and later Shawn St. Clair, who remained with the band until its end.